Cancer and Blood Diseases Center

2013

Gene Therapy: Two years and holding!
For the Cáceres family of Argentina, it’s a joyous holiday homecoming. Agustín, who received gene therapy at 5½ months of age, journeyed with his family to Boston for a check-up and got a clean bill of health.
Read more 

Pediatric Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Provider Course
Participants must be licensed registered nurses. This course content is appropriate for nurses who are new to pediatric and adolescent chemotherapy and biotherapy administration, as well as for those who want a comprehensive review.

March 7th & March 8th, 2013
Boston Children’s Hospital, Waltham campus, conference room A

September 12th & September 13th, 2013
Boston Children’s Hospital, 9 East Classroom, Boston Campus

Registration Fee:

• CHB/DFCI Employee: $90.00
• Other Institutions: $195.00

For more information or to register, email Colleen Nixon at colleen.nixon@childrens.harvard.edu or call 617.355.3611.

2012

September 04, 2012
'Stand Up To Cancer' to feature Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center patient in national broadcast

The SU2C program, which will feature performances from top recording artists, and celebrities from film, television and sports, will encourage viewers to provide financial support for translational research aimed at accelerating the delivery of new cancer therapies to patients. Read more.
 

August 28, 2012
Durkin Family Overcomes Triple Dose of MDS

ABC News profiles three siblings who are being treated at the Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Center for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) - a rare blood disorder that affects the bone marrow. Boston Children’s Michelle Lee, MD, PhD, and nurse Julie Waitt, were interviewed about the siblings’ treatments at Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Center. Read more.
 

July 22, 2012
Key mutations discovered for most common childhood brain cancer

Findings could enable individualized treatment for patients with medulloblastoma. Read more.

May 29, 2012
New drug strategy attacks resistant leukemia and lymphoma

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center have created a peptide that overcomes drug resistance andreactivates programmed cell death in recurrent blood cancers. Read more.
 

May 21, 2012
From boos to hope: Challenging the dogma about deadly brain stem gliomas.

Hilary Olson had no reason to suspect that her daughter Hailey might have a brain tumor. Hailey’s diagnosis came as a huge jolt: a rare, almost always fatal tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). “The doctors were shocked by the size of the tumor,” Hilary recalls. Read more.
 

April 25, 2012
Baby Thrives After Bone Marrow Transplant From Sister

Boston Children’s 18-month old patient Madison Murray, who was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant from her older sister, Gracie. Both girls are now home and are doing well. Read more.

April 19, 2012
Challenging the dogma on deadly brain stem gliomas

Mark Kieran is turning the dogma about DIPGs on its head with a clinical trial that marries advanced neurosurgical techniques with molecular diagnostic tools to target and individualize DIPG treatment. Read more.

April 11, 2012
Taking a targeted approach when leukemia comes back

Lewis Silverman is running a clinical trial of a new targeted approach that could overcome the steroid resistance seen in cases of relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Read more.

April 4, 2012
Cancer research updates from AACR

The American Association for Cancer Research recently held its annual meeting in Chicago. Dr. Loren Walensky of Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Center talks about some of the highlights, including personalized medicine and a new grant that’s helping his team develop new technology to target cancer. Watch this video to learn more.

April 2, 2012
Psychologist comments on Mattels decision to create a bald Barbie

"A hairless doll could really present a great opportunity for families and medical providers to talk about illness and hair loss with kids facing those issues," says Cori Liptak, PhD, a psychologist in the Division of Pediatric Psychosocial Services at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. Read more.

March 15, 2012
DFCHCC at ASPHO: Featured Faculty Presentations

Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center will be attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) from May 9 to May 12. View our featured faculty presentations and visit us at booth #201.

February 14, 2012 
Justin Bieber shines light on rare cancer

Justin Bieber's date with young brain tumor patient Avalanna Routh has focused attention on atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, or AT/RT. Mark Kieran, MD, PhD, discusses this rare cancer. read more

February 2, 2012
Brain tumors get unmasked with gene therapy

Researchers have worked for years on cancer vaccines aimed at getting the immune system to wake up to the presence of a tumor and turn on it. With a Phase 1 safety trial , Kieran and his colleagues, including Children’s neurosurgical oncologist Lily Goumnerova, are evaluating a different strategy for patients with hard-to-treat brain tumors called malignant gliomas: They’re giving the tumors a cold. read more

January 23, 2012
Williams honored for Outstanding Achievement by ASGCT

Congratulations to David Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and director of Translational Research at Children's, and associate chair of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who has been selected by the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy as the recipient of their 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award. read more

January 16, 2012
Sickle cell disease research gets help from Celine Dion

Sickle cell disease research gets help from Celine Dion Legendary entertainer pays tribute to cause with touching benefit vvent; more than $1 million raised for sickle cell disease research read more

January 13, 2012
Birds Do It, Bees Do It, Even Zebrafish Do It – Just Too Little

Species Is Prized for Use in Genetic Studies; 'Promiscuous but Not Indiscriminate.' The zebrafish lab at Boston Children's Hospital is featured on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal, in an article called "Birds Do It, Bees Do It, Even Zebrafish Do It – Just Too Little." Leonard Zon, MD, Louis Kunkel, PhD, and Christian Lawrence are quoted. read more

January 13, 2012
Will a bald Barbie help kids cope with cancer?

A psychologist from the DF/CHCC's Pediatric Psychosocial Program,Cori Liptak, comments on cancer survivors' Facebook petition for a bald Barbie. read more

2011

December 19, 2011
Targeting EETs to treat cardiovascular disease may prove a double-edged sword

A study documents the connection between increased levels of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET) lipids and cancer growth and metastasis opening the door to a new avenue for cancer treatment. read more

December 16, 2011
Children with cancer in Rwanda get help from Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center physicians

Children with cancer in Rwanda are getting specialized care thanks to a partnership with doctors in the United States, helping to save lives in an area with limited resources. Half of treated lymphoma patients in program survive. read more

December 12, 2011
David Nathan Receives Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology

David G. Nathan, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, was presented with the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology at the 2011 ASH Annual Meeting for his remarkable career combining outstanding teaching, pioneering research, and excellence in clinical care. Beyond Dr. Nathan's lasting influence on his trainees and patients, his research on the inherited disorders of red cells and granulocytes, particularly thalassemia, has had a profound impact on the field of hematology. read more

December 13, 2011
Lymphoma outcomes in children improves by team approach with Rwandan and Boston based physicians

In an African county lacking any specialists in children's cancers, a team approach that "twins” Rwandan physicians with Boston-based pediatric oncologists has shown it can deliver expert, curative care to young patients stricken with lymphoma. read more

December 5, 2011
Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Patient from Iraq travels to Boston for Stem Cell Transplant

Click hereto read about a brave little girl who traveled all the way from Iraq to Boston to get treated for sickle cell disease with a stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center.

November 23, 2011
Radiation Sickness Therapy Identified in Study

A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred, according to a study led by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital. read more

October 13, 2011
Dialing up fetal hemoglobin dials down sickle cell disease

Deactivating a single protein corrects sickle cell disease in mice; study opens door to new generation of therapies for this and other blood disorders. read more

July 11, 2011
Epigenetic pathway and new drug show promise in reversing a hard-to-treat childhood cancer

Researchers at Dana-Farber and Boston Children's Hospital have shown that changes in the structure of DNA are responsible for hard-to-treat MLL leukemia – and that it's possible to reverse this process. read more

July 5, 2011
DF/CHCC restructures inpatient and consult services to benefit patients

Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center recently restructured its inpatient oncology and consult services to better care for patients. read more

June 22, 2011
The cell from hell: Can we outsmart cancer stem cells?

Some scientists still debate the existence of cancer stem cells – rare cells that can singlehandedly perpetuate a tumor, and possibly make it more aggressive. read more

June 13, 2011
Our patients' stories: Taking on cancer with a smile

When Sara Cepeda's daughter Ariana was just two months old, she made a terrifying discovery while changing the small girl's diaper. As Sara looked down at her baby on the changing table, she was horrified to see that Ariana's entire midsection was covered in bruises. read more

June 5, 2011
Neuroblastoma News from ASCO 2011

Lisa Diller, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Clinical Director of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center discusses the neuroblastoma study in this video. read more

May 27, 2011
A new start for gene therapy for "bubble boy" disease: First U.S.-treated patient doing well

Agustín, born in Argentina, has a form of X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, or SCID-X1, better known as "bubble boy disease." read more

May 17, 2011
U.S. News rates Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center as top pediatric cancer hospital

U.S. News & World Reporthas ranked Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as the top pediatric cancer hospital in the United States in its 2011-12 Best Children's Hospitals guide. read more

April 21, 2011
Moving gene therapy into high gear, Vector

Gene therapy, still experimental but beginning to enter the clinic, attempts to utilize advanced molecular methods to treat and even reverse genetic diseases. read more

April 8, 2011
Satisfaction guaranteed at Children's Stem Cell program, Children's News

In an effort to make their hospital stay as easy as possible for the program's families, Lehmann and her team have enacted an innovative solution. read more

March 28, 2011
Special needs, special care, The Boston Globe

Innovative team approach helps families of seriously ill children that struggle to balance blessings and burdens of treatment. read more

March 10, 2011
Number of U.S. cancer survivors grows to nearly 12 million, underscores need for survivorship care

The number of cancer survivors reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute demonstrates how important it is to provide survivors with the care and follow-up they need to live healthy lives, says Dana-Farber's Dr. Lisa Diller. view video

February 22, 2011
Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center physicians recognized as 'Top Doctors' in Boston area

Four Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) cancer specialists were recognized by Boston magazine for being among the area's top physicians.